Disorders of the long head of the biceps tendon are a common source of shoulder pain and may occur in association with other diagnoses such as rotator cuff tears, superior labrum anterior posterior tears, impingement syndrome and capsular injuries, or may be present as an isolated source of shoulder pain. The treatment options for disorders of the long head of the biceps (LHB) continue to evolve and can include LHB tenodesis. In a tenodesis procedure, a suture is passed through the base of the LHB to locate the LHB in the subacromial space and to provide proximal control during the dissection. Once the suture is placed, the LHB is cut near the glenoid attachment. A sizer can be used to measure the tendon size and to thereby determine the appropriately sized bone screw. Once the screw is selected, a bone hole is drilled and a tendon fork is then used to push the tendon down into the bone hole. A bone screw is then delivered into the bone hole to anchor the tendon within the bone hole.
Some bone screws for anchoring a tendon include two pieces, namely a sheath and a screw that is inserted into the sheath and that causes the sheath to expand radially outward to anchor the sheath, and thereby the tendon, within the bone hole. While current two-piece anchors can be very effective, one drawback is that the screw can be over-inserted into the sheath. This can cause various undesirable effects, such as unwanted rotation of the sheath, movement of the sheath, and/or over-expansion and thus fracture of or damage to the sheath.
Accordingly, there remains a need for improved methods and devices for anchoring tissue to bone, and in particular for limiting an insertion depth of a screw into a sheath of a two-piece anchor device.